Notes on delimitation

The Plumbaginaceae are split into two very distinct sub -families: Plumbaginoideae, which includes Plumbago, and Staticoideae, which includes Limonium (Lledo et al. 2001).

Treated as a monofamiliar order the Plumbaginales sensu Cronquist.

Currently placed in the non-core Caryophyllales as a strongly supported monophyletic sister to the family Polygonaceae and in the same clade as Simmondsiaceae, Nepenthaceae and Droseraceae (Lledo et al. 1998, 2001).

The Plumbaginaceae have sometimes been placed in the order Primulales, based on similarities in floral structure: both have (1) stamens equal in number to and opposite the petals, (2) common petal-stamen primordia, (3) more or less connatecorolla (Limonium), (4) absence of stipules and (5) superior unilocular ovary with a freebasalplacenta. However, the Primulales have a strongly supported relationship to the asterid 3 clade backed up by cytological and biochemical evidence (Lledo et al. 1998, 2001).

Distribution in the Neotropics

Plumbago (9 species) can be found throughout the Neotropics in dry scrubland, lowland tropical forest and in the Andes:

Number of genera

Two Neotropical genera: Plumbago and Limonium.

Status

Plumbaga auriculata Lam. (a climber) and P. indica are commonly naturalized in the Neotropics with others cultivated throughout the region. The remainder of the family is native, with some endemic species.

General notes

Pollinated by bees, flies and small beetles.

From the Latin for lead "Plumbum", so called by Pliny who attributed the curing of lead disease to European species.

The Caryophyllales are sometimes also called the Centrospermae - meaning "central seeded".